The World Wars, Page 4 - Kibble, A Lasting Legacy. Residential, secure, education, fostering, social enterprise, training for young people and youths.

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The World Wars

Remembrance Day

Kibble’s archive contains numerous references to boys leaving Kibble and enlisting in the armed forces. Many went on to see active service in both world wars. We have now compiled a roll of the boys who enlisted from Kibble during WWI.

The Home Front

War shortages and rationing were highlighted in Kibble’s records and minute books during and after the WWII period. Minutes of the Approved Schools’ (Scotland) Association from 1943 refer to proposals to have (ration) coupons allocated six-monthly or annually ‘so that favourable opportunities of purchasing might not be missed by reason of restriction on the supply of coupons immediately available’.

In 1944 the Association expressed concern about ‘difficulties of staffing’ experienced in all schools. Staff recruitment and retention would have been challenging because so many men were away at the war. In the same year, they recorded that clothing coupons were to be issued in three instalments.

Building work at Kibble was also affected by the war, as it was in the wider community. The Approved Schools’ Association acknowledged in 1945 that the overriding national demand for houses meant that education building programmes could not be as complete as was desirable. This was an issue because, following the 1944 Education Act, the school-leaving age was raised to fifteen. The provision of school kitchens and new premises to provide for the additional school population in mainstream schools were recognised as ‘inescapable priorities’. The Association therefore conceded that the prospect of extensive building for Approved Schools was very poor, although ‘some adaptations and alterations may be possible’.

At the end of the war, the Headmaster’s Report for the quarter ending 30th June 1945 alluded to ‘a distinct wave of unsettlement since Armistice Day and the V. (Victory) holidays’. It highlighted that the school roll was over the ‘emergency number of 150’ and attributed this to factors such as ‘a slowing up of the call-up to the Services of registered boys’ and the ‘lack of employment caused by the transition period’, both of which relate to the ending of World War II.

Telegram from 1959, Kibble's centenary celebrations

A congratulations telegram from our 100th anniversary.

Kibble contributed to, and was affected by, the war effort in various ways. Many of the boys admitted during both wars were listed as having parents and siblings engaged in active service or employed at munitions production. The fathers of some boys had been killed in the wars. These factors may have contributed to the behaviour and activities that led to them being sent to Kibble. Perhaps the saddest aspect is that so many young men left Kibble, having been there for several years, to go straight to war. Many lost their lives in the process, never having had the opportunity to enjoy a carefree adolescence and young adulthood.

A Lasting Legacy